Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed Wednesday, with several indexes set to close early in lieu of the Christmas Eve holiday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.14%, while the Topix traded around the flatline. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported on Wednesday that the country was set to issue about 29.6 trillion yen (about $190 billion) in new government bonds to fund its fiscal 2026 budget. Yields on the 30-year Japanese government bond rose over 2 basis points to a record high of 3.454%. Yields on the 20-year JGBs rose a little under one basis point to 2.992%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.1%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat. However, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.33%, snapping a four-day streak of gains.
Stocks rose for a fourth straight session on Tuesday, as artificial intelligence names continued to outperform during a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 added 0.46%, closing at a record level of 6,909.79. The broad market index is now just below its intraday all-time high of 6,920.34. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.57% to end at 23,561.84. Gains in tech giants Nvidia and Broadcom, which rose around 3% and more than 2%, respectively, lifted the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 79.73 points, or 0.16%, and settled at 48,442.41. Traders continued to bet the Federal Reserve will lower its benchmark rate next year, even after the release of new economic data that came in well above expectations.
Gold rose past $4,500 per ounce on Wednesday to a fresh record, driven by expectations of further Federal Reserve easing and rising geopolitical tensions. US economic growth remained solid in the third quarter, with GDP expanding at a faster pace than in the prior period, although labor market data pointed to continued but gradually moderating job creation. Markets are still pricing in two rate cuts in 2026 as inflation cools and employment conditions soften, even as policymakers remain divided. Meanwhile, tensions involving Venezuela, where the US has blockaded oil tankers, have lifted safe-haven demand and increased geopolitical risk across commodity markets.
WTI crude oil futures rose to around $58 per barrel on Wednesday, holding a five-day gain and hovering at a two-week high, supported by escalating geopolitical tensions. The US continues efforts to intercept another oil tanker near Venezuela as Washington intensifies pressure on President Nicolás Maduro’s administration. Although Venezuelan crude exports account for a small share of global supply, they remain a vital source of revenue for the government. Hostilities between Ukraine and Russia have again targeted energy-related assets, with a recent strike damaging port infrastructure and nearby vessels along the Black Sea, sparking a fire in a coastal settlement on a key route for Russian energy exports.
The U.S. will increase tariffs on Chinese semiconductor imports in June 2027, at a rate to be determined at least a month in advance, the Trump administration said in a Federal Register filing on Tuesday. But in the meantime, the initial tariff rate on semiconductor imports from China will be zero for 18 months, according to the filing from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. As part of an investigation that kicked off a year ago, the agency found that China is engaging in unfair trade practices in the industry. “For decades, China has targeted the semiconductor industry for dominance and has employed increasingly aggressive and sweeping non-market policies and practices in pursuing dominance of the sector,” the office said in the filing. The decision to delay new tariffs for at least 18 months signals that the Trump administration is seeking to cool any trade hostilities between the U.S. and China.
H-1B applicants face a challenging year ahead as political pushback to the visas is reinforced with a slew of actions from the U.S. administration. On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in India posted on X that since Dec. 15, it has started conducting online presence reviews of all H-1B and H-4 visa applicants in a bid to curb the “abuse of the H-1B program.” The U.S. Department of Labour last week proposed a wage protection law, which experts said could dissuade companies from sponsoring H-1Bs for employees. This would “substantially increase the prevailing wage across the board for all H-1B holders,” Manish Daftari, partner at immigration consultancy Vialto Partners, told CNBC. He added that “companies will most likely reduce the number of H-1B sponsorship” once this rule is implemented.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Tuesday that the Federal Reserve is not cutting interest rates quickly enough, even though the U.S. economy grew at a much faster-than-expected pace in the third quarter. Hassett, a leading contender to succeed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell when his term ends in May, said the artificial intelligence boom is boosting economic growth while simultaneously putting downward pressure on inflation. “If you look at central banks around the world, the U.S. is way behind the curve in terms of lowering rates,” the top White House economic advisor told CNBC in a “Money Movers” interview. U.S. economic growth came in at an annual rate of 4.3% in the third quarter, faster than the Dow Jones consensus of 3.2%. Hassett said 1.5% of that growth was due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs reducing the U.S. trade deficit.
The U.S. economy grew at a much greater-than-expected pace in the third quarter, boosted by strong consumer spending, a delayed report released Tuesday showed. U.S. gross domestic product, a sum of all goods and services produced in the sprawling U.S. economy, expanded by 4.3% in the July-September period, the Commerce Department said in its initial reading of third-quarter growth. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect a gain of 3.2%. Consumer spending expanded by 3.5% in the third quarter after rising 2.5% in the second quarter. Increases in exports and government spending also boosted growth, while a smaller dip in private fixed investment helped as well.
Novo Nordisk shares jumped 10% on Tuesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its weight-loss pill, giving the Danish drugmaker a competitive edge over rival Eli Lilly in the fast-evolving market for obesity drugs. The approval of Novo’s Wegovy pill gives the drugmaker a first-mover advantage in the race for a potent oral weight-loss medicine, as it tries to claw back market share from Lilly and compounding manufacturers. Shares of the company rose to 335.60 Danish crowns, set for biggest one-day gain since August 2023. Novo, which faced massive supply challenges after the 2021 launch of its injectable drug Wegovy, has said it is better prepared this time. CEO Mike Doustdar said last month that the company has "more than enough pills this time" and would go "all in" on the launch.
A Baltimore jury ordered Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries to pay over $1.5 billion to a woman who claimed decades of exposure to asbestos in the company’s talc-based products caused her peritoneal mesothelioma, a form of cancer. Jurors in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, on Monday found the company, two of its subsidiaries and spinoff Kenvue liable for failing to warn plaintiff Cherie Craft that its baby powder contained asbestos. Johnson & Johnson said it will appeal the jury’s decision, which the plaintiff’s law firm said was the largest-ever sum awarded against J&J for a single plaintiff. The award to Craft, who was diagnosed with mesothelioma in January 2024, includes $59.84 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages of $1 billion against J&J and $500 million against Pecos River Talc - a J&J subsidiary, according to court documents.
ServiceNow will acquire cybersecurity startup Armis in a cash deal valued at $7.75 billion, the company said Tuesday. Shares fell 1.5%. The enterprise software company said the deal will bolster its cybersecurity capabilities in the age of artificial intelligence and more than triple its market opportunity for security and risk solutions. “This is about making a strategic move to accelerate growth, and we see the opportunity for our customers,” CEO Bill McDermott told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Tuesday. “In this AI world, especially with the agents, you’re going to need to protect these enterprises [because] every intrusion is a multimillion-dollar problem.” ServiceNow said the deal is expected to close in the second half of next year, financed by a combination of cash and debt.
Apple will allow other app stores besides its own in the tech giant’s iOS operating system in Brazil to settle a three-year case with the country’s antitrust regulator CADE, both parties said on Tuesday. An internal panel at CADE formed a majority to accept Apple’s proposal of an agreement, CADE said in a statement. Apart from the app stores, the agreement also orders Apple to allow for third-party payment processing methods for in-app purchases besides its own, or links to external websites for transactions. Apple said in a statement it will make the changes to comply with CADE demands, but that these moves will open privacy and security risks to users.